Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection is the original Sword of the Stars games and the three expansions Born of Blood, A Murder of Crows and Argos Naval Yard. It is the year 2405, and human scientists have discovered a new technology that allows travel from star to star at speeds faster than light.

About This Game

Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection is the original Sword of the Stars games and the three expansions Born of Blood, A Murder of Crows and Argos Naval Yard.

It is the year 2405, and human scientists have discovered a new technology that allows travel from star to star at speeds faster than light. But tragedy strikes, as Earth is ravaged by an alien force. The dawning of a new era was stymied by a grim, new reality...

Sword of the Stars:

4 distinct races - Human, Hiver, Tarkas and Liir

A powerful state of the art engine delivers breathtaking graphics and robust game play

Each race has a unique mode of transport between star systems, creating very different styles of play

Over 150 distinct technologies to research on a dynamic tech tree

Over 40 weapons from six different weapon classes

Players can design and build ships from three size classes - Destroyer, Cruiser, and Dreadnought

Up to 8 players can play against the AI and one another over LAN or online

Choose from a variety of scenario campaigns to play alone or with friends

Born of Blood:

Play as the merciless Zuul Slavers with over 90 brand-new ship sections and their unique drive system – the Tunnel Drive

Over 25 additional technologies

15 more weapons you can add to your ship designs

New ship sections for the original four races, including: War, Projector, Boarding, and a new type of defense satellite – the Torpedo Defense Platform

This is one of the most underated 4X games ive played. Ive put way more than 112 hours into it before i had steam. The combat controls take a bit of getting used to but once you have those nailed this game will eat hours of your life.

Planet management and the tech tree are easy to understand but the tech still retains depth. After an 8 hour long game you will still have lots of tech still to discover.Whilst the graphics are a little dated it really doesnt matter once you are playing and you are immersed. Combat is enjoyable to watch especially when you have 3 massive dreadnoughts trying to face off against an entire enemy fleet.

This is a really solid game one of my favourite random buys ever .Its worth every penny and if you see it in a sale definatly grab it!

If you like space battles featuring fleets of custom ships, buy this game.If you like colonizing, conquering, and converting other factions or races, buy this game!If you have ever wanted to be the undying sage presence that guides an ancient race of space-faring birds as they subjugate the far reaches of the abyss, tearing through the galaxy on the quest to restore their empire to it's former glory, BUY THIS GAME!

A surprising favorite among 4X games. I've put 90% of my time into this game before getting it on Steam, and I still come back to it now and again. Everything about SotS is cut down to its best aspects; empire management is user friendly and simplified, but still a powerful way to gain an advantage, while combat is straight to the point and engaging. You will never spend twenty minutes meticulously planning your next turn. Instead you'll be rushing to make new designs and push production, scraping together fleets to push your advantage and stave off annihilation.

If this game had better publishing, it would rank among the classics. And once you think you've played it out, just try the ACM mod.

A very deep strategy game combining slow paced turn based strategy with battles handled in a tactically rich real-time, so fans of either should find something to enjoy. Gameplay is smooth, Intuitive, and mostly bug-free at this point.There is seemingly limitless customization with a wealth of ship designs and weapons systems to implement all with their own strengths and weaknesses, countless tech options allowing you to customize your playstyle depending on what research you choose to specialize in, along with each playable race feeling truly unique in their playstyle. Multiple scenarios to play through with differing victory condition based on your race and/or faction within that race.

Cons:

The sheer amount of information on the screen and choices to make can be a little mind boggling at first but is fairly intuitive and doesn't take too long to learn. Graphics are a bit dated at this time but certainly acceptable. Music is forgettable but maintains a pleasant atmosphere in the game. The AI doesnt scale particularly well however often remaining pretty easy on any difficulty but you can offset that with handicaps while setting up the match. RNG tech availability can leave a game terribly unbalanced if you're extremely unlucky. Lack of a true 'story mode' may turn off some players.

Overall a solid game that has given me hundreds of hours of entertainment long before it was available on steam,

Best space 4x game I have ever played. Each race travels differently. Every game has a different research tree. Awesome random events. Only issue is automating battles with drones and balance of some weapons.

Basically Rome Total War in space. Only less buggy and you don't have to worry about ♥♥♥♥ing squalor(Diplomacy is still lacking, but who has time for that while commiting genocide on bird/fish/dog/ant/whateverthe♥♥♥♥tarkansare people?).

Combat plays kind of like Star Wars: Empire At War, only MUCH more in depth. You can pin point exactly where you want your ships to fire and with what weapons. Every weapon has it's own use and even your basic destroyer class ships still have their uses end game.

The research tree is race specific and semi-random, so although you do have a few technologies you can count on being there, don't always expect to get that Anti-Matter Missile Upgrade. However you can still salvage technology from enemy ships, so not all is lost. The tree itself is vast and makes you feel like you're playing pokemon(GOTTA LEARN THEM ALL!) for scientists. Unfortunately, finding out how something is effective requires either a google search or trial and error.

I play on a Dual Pentium 2.3 ghz laptop with an integrated graphics card(♥♥♥♥ you Intel), and yet so far I have yet to hit a spot where framerate becomes an issue. However once an AI controls a large territory they take longer to figure what they do(so I assume) and so you get a 30 sec to 1 min delay in turns. Which is extremely frustrating when you are just trying to skip turns.

I've played with the AI on normal difficulty and default economic settings and so far I've been able to take on empires twice my size(probably due to me beefing up my economy then research end game tech a little early and I did finish around 400-500 turns so not the quickest by any means). The time limit can be a curse when you are trying to comb the area for enemy units or simply trying to glass a planet.

Great game, definitely something for those of you who want to conquer the galaxy, plenty of race variety and scenarios to make you replay this game.

Very fun game with random tech tree to spice up each playthrough. The combat is well paced going from simple to complex as you research new guns and toys for your ships. The trading feels a little overpowered.

I can't recommend this enough. This is the most fun I've had with a 4x since Alpha Centauri. They implemented a lot of elegant solutions to reduce tedium and streamline management without losing depth or complexity. The UI is not intuitive largely because they kept it from being cluttered, as such the tutorials are highly recommended.

Ship design was done very well. It is very satisfying to come up against an overwhelming opposition, make a few minor adjustments to a design and alter its tactics and come back and win not because you had bigger boots but because you used an effective strategy. There is a lot of depth to design, and variety is rewarded.

Strategy in combat is very enjoyable as you are given plenty of useful tools. You can make a 2 tier setup with heavily fortified ships engaging close range and long range support keeping distance without having to constantly switch between the various groups to give orders. That might sound oversimplified, but it doesn't play itself. It simply gives tools that streamline basic tactics and the end result is a smarter and more fluid battle. Also, combat is simulated in engine, there are no behind the curtains dice rolls to verify hit and miss. If missiles get shot down, it's because anti-missile turrets hit their target. Furthermore, it is possible to target specific points on the enemy if you want to disable something specific, like getting behind the enemy and taking out their forward shields, or their engines. Combat is as tedious or simple as you choose to make it, and the end result is a rewarding experience.

Diplomacy is available, but rather than assume you want to be friendly with the neighbors, the default is war, with alliances and NAP's being something you have to work for if that’s what your into. It's there if you enjoy the challenge of diplomacy, but its assumed you want to blow things up. With that said, any time you encounter a new player or AI for the first time your ships are set to hold fire, so the game respects the possibility of peace, but you must research their language and diplomatic options for them to be available.

People say this is underrated, and I have to agree. I'm more than a little annoyed that I didn't find this gem until now.

The best space 4x game there is. Total War... in space! In the turn based strategy layer you explore and colonize worlds, research and build spaceships. When two fleets meet you get real time battles.This game has great depth, where you have to manage refueling and repair, try to counter your opponents using techs on a tech tree that has random branches missing every game. You have to deal with random events and epic Grand Manaces and AI rebellions that can be far more dangerous than your opponents. The races are really different, each with its unique travelling method, strenths and weaknessess. All this is presented in a faily easy and intuitive way. An epic game.

Talk about a hidden jewel. This game has it almast all to become a legend; too bad it has not a big name like EA for publisher. You are missing some serious 4X fun if you pass this one. It has aged very well and is truly a benchmark on the genere. Don't believe me give it a shot and see for yourself.

For me THIS is the perfect 4X game along ROME:Total War.

PROS:

-Has a nice tutorial and manual; not a steep learning curve.-Can appeal to a very broad audience; vets and newcomers alike.-AI plays reasonably well.-Races have it's strength and weaknesess very well represented.-Incredible modding capabilities; this is a highly replay value few other games have.-Most mods are available even today at the developer's forum and play smoothly.-Easy to set up mods and get rid of them.-Very stable; I had zero issues regarding system stability in Windows trhough XP to 8.-Mods enable to work wonders regarding the playable races.-Most 4X games are insanely difficult or plain dumb. This game can be configured to a healthy middle ground or not... your choice.-Very nice fleet management.-Some screenshots are awesome.-Very fun close battles and just perfect Electronic Warfare for your ships.-Has a depth you won't believe until you realize you spend a lot of time tinkering with the designs and fleet roster and you realize you enjoy it as much as the battles.-A true and worthy successor to Master of Orion 2.-Easily one of the most valued games judging by the price/quality ratio.-Empire management is a BREEZE, efficient, elegant and comprehensive.-Nice diplomatic stance and neutral roaming monsters (menaces).-Research is absolutely perfect.-The most polished and fluid UI alnost perfect.-Massive scale? hell yeah. Even has custom maps for a quick skirmish type play.-A game with some seriuos lore.-Should you want the AI to simulate the battle it can do it nicely.-Nice physics engine that won't "CLIP"or clump your units. Actually you can use size as an advantage; more nimble and small vessels can outmanover largar ships for a nice and devious tactics.-Once you understand special weapons, intelligence and fleet layouts you are going to like it because it adds another depths to the tactical side that can cripple "stronger" empires.

CONS:

-No campaign.-AI can be seriously hampered by bad decisions, however this is rare.-Very hard to aim your long range weapon in some cases when a planet is between you and the enemy fleets. (your ships oblitarate a target on range though not always the ideal target).-Some designs are a little too restrictive, but you can manage with some creativity.-Somewhat dated graphics and sound effects.-Some weapons require manual launch and targeting but those weapons are very nice and nasty.

As you can see a nice old school game that will knock your socks off should you manage to give it a chance. The cons are only minor and certainly won't matter once you give it a shot. Highly recommended.

Prepare for a long game. If you only like short games, go away. If you like long games that can be replayed, even being forced to change your tactics because the tech tree isn't guaranteed to be fully available, yet remains fully viable, play this.

There's lots of replayability in this game. Some features only work with players because the AI isn't capable of using them (I'm looking specifically at joint science projects), but for the most part the AI is as capable as any human opponent. The different drive modes each race has at their dispoasl also results in tremendously different tactics based on race, which means just changing your race can give you a completely different experience. The ship design is also able to greatly change how your game experience will be, as default ship designs with default loadouts, while fine, can be varied to an incredible degree to better suit your personal playstyle. You prefer missiles, and lots of 'em? Load up with corrosive missiles, maybe. Lasers more your style? Battle bridge and blazer mission section. Small craft your thing? Use drones, especially if you have access to the C.O.L. upgrade to launch them straight at your foes at high speed.

But whatever you do, seriously, prepare for a long game, especially on the largest maps. Personally, I love that, but I know not everyone does, so be forewarned, we're talking a game in this runs more like a tournament in RTS.

Live-action battles! Yeah, you command that fleet, champ! Set thrusters to overdrive, baby!

Randomized research trees! Your builds are going to be like your childhood homes: never the same one twice!

Sooooo many options for a custom game! Racist against Hivers? They don't have to exist in your world! Are you lame and want space to be flat? There's an option for that, and you lost my respect! Want to give yourself an unfair advantage? It's okay, the AI can't complain! (Your friends might)

All in all, a cool game for if you always wanted to become a galaxial tyrant, but don't have the stomach for killing real aliens (or humans, but that is so vanilla)